Report: She works hard(er) for the money

Wage gap persists in Washington, U.S.

By Chris Thomas | Apr 09, 2013

Today is Equal Pay Day, the point at which the average pay for a woman in the U.S. catches up to the average of what a man made last year. A new report analyzing U.S. Census Bureau data is a reminder that the wage gap between the sexes persists - even in states with a higher minimum wage.

According to the report, Washington women earn 77 cents per hour for every dollar paid to men, a gap that adds up to about $12,000 a year for a full-time worker. Sarah Crawford, director of workplace fairness, National Partnership for Women and Families, said not much has changed since last year's Equal Pay Day.

"The interesting point," she said, "is that there is no state where women are earning more than men. The wage gap persists in every corner of our country."

Crawford noted that the federal Equal Pay Act turns 50 this summer. Her group wants an update, with changes that include requiring employers to prove their reasons for pay differences and not allowing them to retaliate against workers for discussing their pay.

"About half of the workforce is subject to policies that could lead to discipline or even firing for voluntary discussions of pay with coworkers," Crawford said. "If you can't talk about your pay, how can you find out about pay discrimination?"

Some bipartisan support exists in Congress for a new Paycheck Fairness Act, she added, although it was blocked by procedural votes in 2010 and again last year.

For the 280,000 or so Washington households headed by women, Crawford said the wage gap is of particular concern.

"Over 15 million households in the United States are headed by women, and 31 percent of those households live in poverty," she said. "Eliminating the wage gap would provide critical income to those women and their families."

The report says the wage gap is more pronounced for women of color, with Latina women making 55 cents for every dollar earned by a white man and African-American women making 64 cents. It also cites Seattle as one of the major U.S. cities where the wage gap is most pronounced.